Samsung ramping up to 7nm next year

Despite having its CEO behind bars, Samsung will be ready for volume production of its 7nm process node in 2018.

Samsung Electronics demonstrated its foundry technology roadmap at the China Semiconductor Technology International Conference (CSTIC) held in Shanghai on March 12.

Samsung VP of Technology at Ho-Kyu Kang said that all chipmakers will have a few headaches when trying to move to sub-10nm process technology, and will have a hell of a time improving yield rates for the node.

He said that gate-all-around field-effect transistors (GAA FET) technology will be the approach to overcome the issue.

Samsung will adopt the GAA FET structure to develop its 7nm and 5nm process nodes, said Kang.

Samsung will also use extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography once it achieves a breakthrough in the technology, Kang added.

Kang said that 5nm should be ready for volume production in 2020, Kang unveiled.

Meanwhile Samsung has launched its FD-SOI process technology to provide a low-cost alternative to FinFET technologies, and introduced a 28nm FD-SOI node designed specifically for IoT devices, he added.